New Toy: The Nikon D40x

30 May 2007

A couple of weeks ago, we bought a new 10 megapixel Nikon D40x digital SLR camera. We had a 5 megapixel Canon S60 point-and-shoot which took very nice outdoor shots, but was not very good in low light and flash situations. I really wanted something that would allow me to attach an external flash and use a variety of lenses. Prices have finally dropped enough on the DSLRs to make it more attractive to pull the trigger.

The ability to bounce the flash makes all the difference in the world, as you can tell from this shot, in which the flash is barely detectable, and the colors are still warm. I also picked-up the hard-to-find Nikon 18-200mm DX VR lens, which allows me to get more candid shots of the kids since I don't have to be in their face to get in tight. Typically, if they know they're being photographed they launch into their poses and forced smiles. While that can be good on occasion, I prefer to catch them in the middle of doing whatever they're doing at the time.

I've been having a lot of fun experimenting and trying to be a little more thoughtful and creative with the camera. At this point I'm just getting my feet wet, but hopefully I'll be getting better and better at this as time goes on. You can see the results at my Flickr site. The newer photos with the "DSC_" prefix were all taken with the new setup.

Oh, and since we let Gina use the old Canon S60 now, she has been busy carefully cataloging everything in and near the house. You haven't lived until you've seen 85 shots of various household items.